Founding Fathers: A New Constitution Forged In 1787

The United States Constitution was drafted in 1787 to address the weaknesses of the central government under the Articles of Confederation, which had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, consisting of 55 delegates, aimed to revise the Articles, but soon abandoned them, opting for a stronger national government with a federal structure. The new Constitution provided a framework for negotiating state and national powers, establishing a government with more specific powers, including those related to foreign relations. The document has been successful in balancing governmental power and personal liberty, providing stability to the nation, and has served as the basis of the US government since its ratification in 1789.

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A weak central government

The United States Constitution of 1787 was created to address the weaknesses of the central government under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, gave the Confederation Congress the authority to make rules and request funds from the states, but it lacked enforcement powers, the ability to regulate commerce, and the ability to print money. This led to disputes between the states over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, threatening to tear the young nation apart.

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was convened to revise the Articles of Confederation, but the delegates ultimately decided to create a new constitution with a stronger national government. They aimed to establish a federal government with more specific powers, particularly in the area of foreign relations. The new constitution provided a framework for dividing power between the states and the national government, addressing fears of an overbearing central authority.

One of the key issues addressed by the new constitution was the challenge of conducting foreign policy. Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government struggled to pass and enforce laws related to foreign affairs. The new constitution established an executive branch to handle many foreign affairs responsibilities, while important powers such as treaty ratification remained with the legislative branch.

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention also created a system of checks and balances by dividing federal authority among the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government. This balanced structure aimed to ensure that no single branch held excessive power and provided a mechanism for negotiating issues of state and national authority.

The new constitution also addressed representation in Congress, a contentious issue at the time. The delegates agreed to a bicameral legislature, with a Senate providing equal representation for all states and a House of Representatives apportioned based on state population, including the Three-Fifths Compromise regarding enslaved Africans.

The Constitution of 1787, with its strong central government and system of checks and balances, provided stability and a framework for negotiating state and national powers, addressing the weaknesses of the previous central government under the Articles of Confederation.

Inability to pass or enforce laws

The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 delegates, with George Reed signing on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total number of signatures to 39. This new constitution was created to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution.

The Articles of Confederation gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, hindering its ability to pass or enforce laws. It couldn't regulate commerce, print money, or effectively manage states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, which threatened to tear the young country apart.

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 aimed to resolve these issues by creating a new model of government with a series of checks and balances. They divided federal authority among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each with distinct roles and powers. The legislative branch was tasked with making laws, the executive branch with executing them, and the judicial branch with interpreting them.

The new constitution established a federal government with more specific powers, including the authority to conduct relations with foreign governments. The executive branch was given responsibility for many aspects of foreign affairs, although important powers, such as treaty ratification, remained with the legislative branch.

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 sought to address the inability to pass or enforce laws under the Articles of Confederation by creating a new system of government with defined powers and a separation of powers among different branches. This new constitution provided a stronger framework for governing the country and managing relations with foreign governments.

States' disputes over territory, taxation and trade

The United States Constitution was formed in 1787 to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation, which was America's first constitution. The Articles of Confederation had given the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. This led to states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, threatening to tear the young country apart.

The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia met between May and September of 1787 to address these issues. The delegates to the convention created a model of government that relied on a series of checks and balances by dividing federal authority between the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches. The new Constitution established a federal government with more specific powers, including those related to conducting relations with foreign governments.

One of the main issues addressed by the new Constitution was the dispute over territory. The states had differing claims to western lands, which led to quarrels that the central government had little power to settle. The new Constitution established that the United States Congress would be the last resort on appeal in all disputes between two or more states concerning boundary, jurisdiction, or any other cause.

Another issue was taxation. The Articles of Confederation had given the Confederation Congress the power to request funds from the states, but it lacked the authority to enforce this. The new Constitution established an Executive branch with the power to conduct foreign relations and handle routine paperwork, which allowed it to address some of the issues that had been a source of sectional tension under the Articles of Confederation.

Finally, the new Constitution also addressed disputes over trade. The Confederation Congress lacked the authority to regulate intrastate trade, and states' attempts to impose import duties on goods from other states further hampered commerce. The new Constitution granted Congress exclusive power over commerce, allowing it to resolve issues such as the ban on American ships navigating the Mississippi River, imposed by the Spanish government, which controlled New Orleans.

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A compromise on slavery

The Constitution of 1787 was created to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, which gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation, but by mid-June, they had decided to create a new constitution with a stronger national government.

One of the most contentious issues facing the framers of the Constitution was slavery. The Southern states wanted their entire population, including slaves, to be counted when determining the number of representatives they could send to Congress. The Free States, on the other hand, wanted to exclude the slave population from the count, as slaves had no voting rights. This disagreement threatened to derail the Union.

A compromise was eventually reached, known as the Three-Fifths Compromise. It counted three-fifths of each state's slave population towards its total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This gave the Southern states more representation in the House of Representatives and more votes in the Electoral College. The Three-Fifths Compromise also affected taxation, as taxes were based on population. By including three-fifths of the slave population in the tax calculation, the burden of taxation on the slave states was reduced.

Another compromise on slavery was the agreement to ban restrictions on the Atlantic slave trade for 20 years. In exchange, the Southern delegates agreed to remove a clause restricting the national government's power to enact laws requiring goods to be shipped on American vessels, benefiting northeastern shipbuilders and sailors. The Constitution also included a fugitive slave clause, requiring the return of runaway slaves to their owners, and gave the federal government the power to put down slave insurrections.

While the framers of the Constitution consciously avoided using the word "slave", recognizing that it would sully the document, the compromises made on slavery effectively protected and strengthened the institution. These compromises were seen as a necessary concession to gain the support of the Southern delegates for a strong central government.

Checks and balances

The United States Constitution came into effect in 1789, two years after the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, which assembled to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention created a model of government that relied upon a series of checks and balances by dividing federal authority between the Legislative, the Judicial, and the Executive branches of government.

The Framers of the Constitution considered how to order a system of government that provided sufficient power to govern while protecting the liberties of the governed. They incorporated a system of checks and balances, whereby one branch could check the powers assigned to another. This was influenced by the political theorist Baron Charles de Montesquieu, who wrote about the separation of powers concept almost 100 years earlier.

The Legislative Vesting Clause, along with the coordinate Executive and Judicial Vesting Clauses, delineate the powers the Framers accorded to the National Government’s Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches. For example, the Constitution allows the President to veto legislation, but requires the President to gain the Senate's consent to appoint executive officers and judges or enter into treaties. The courts are assured independence from the political branches through good-behaviour tenure and security of compensation. Through judicial review, the courts check the other two branches.

Bicameralism reduces legislative predominance, while the presidential veto gives the President a means of defending his priorities and preventing congressional overreach. The impeachment power gives Congress the authority to root out corruption and abuse of power in the other two branches.

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